I Became the Abandoned Daughter of an Underworld Boss

‘Are we far from arriving?’

Traveling by carriage was as frustrating as expected.

His gaze fell on his daughter, who was fidgeting with her fingers.

Would she say she felt dizzy if he carried her on a horse? She might also complain that her bottom hurt and begged to be let down.

Asil, who enjoyed horseback riding, asked casually.

“Yuriana, do you like horses?”

“Horses?”

“Yes. You’ve seen them before, right?”

Even at the old Dark House, horses were important animals, and they kept good ones in the stables.

Now there were even more.

Unexpectedly, Yuriana shook her head.

“No… I don’t really know. Horses are so big, their snorts are loud, their feet are big, their tails are big—everything is just big.”

“Oh, I see.”

To a seven-year-old Yuriana, horses might not be such beautiful creatures.

Asil laughed off his daughter’s blunt words.

If one of his subordinates had said something like that, he would have scolded them, but it was okay because it was Yuriana.

If she didn’t like it, of course, he would just let her ride in the carriage instead of on a horse.

The carriage carrying father and daughter continued rolling on.

Normally, they would have traveled fast and reached the border in a day.

But since they were accompanying the queen, the pace was slow, and they had to camp halfway through the journey.

This was expected.

Asil gently brushed the hair of his daughter, who had fallen asleep without complaining.

The next day, before noon.

“We’ll take a short break!”

“Break!”

“Take a break, everyone!”

The kingdom’s knights rode back and forth, echoing the same command.

Having caught onto this, Asil made a suggestion to his daughter.

“Shall we step outside for some fresh air? Once we arrive in Elodia, the schedule will be hectic. If you get tired, you can always lean on my shoulder and sleep.”

Though Yuriana knew she was at an age where childish behavior would be forgiven, she didn’t want to.

Ugh.

Karas was looking for her, and she couldn’t let him see her drooling on her father’s shoulder!

That would be so embarrassing.

“I’ll go outside.”

“Alright.”

The procession was long, so even if she stuck her head out of the carriage, she couldn’t see where it began.

‘There must be a lot of people with us.’

She would have to give up on finding Karas.

Standing beside the carriage, Yuriana looked at the trees on the outskirts and the green grass sprouting up.

Then, she excitedly spotted something sniffing among the small wildflowers.

“Dad! Look over there, it’s a wild rabbit, isn’t it?”

Light brown…! That was it, that was it! She found a wild rabbit in nature!

Yuriana restrained herself from jumping up and down in excitement.

If she did, the rabbit would probably run away, startled by the ground’s vibrations.

Asil, on the other hand, found her words a bit odd.

“Hmm?”

There was no guarantee that rabbits wouldn’t breed this season, but wasn’t it a bit too early in spring?

Even animals had their mating seasons.

Asil smiled when he looked in the direction Yuriana was pointing.

He found his daughter’s excitement adorable and wanted to tease her.

“… ha.”

“Dad?”

He suddenly proposed.

“Would you like to take that cute wild rabbit home and raise it?”

Yuriana’s eyes grew wide.

“Um… no. Lulu would want to eat it, so that’s a no. Besides, I think wild rabbits are better off staying in the wild.”

“You’re right. But the problem is, that’s not a rabbit—it’s a field mouse.”

“What?”

“That’s a field mouse wandering around in spring, Yuriana.”

“Whaaaat?!”

Yuriana’s high-pitched voice echoed in the sky.

Several birds hiding in the trees fluttered away in a flurry.

Asil, chuckling to himself, teased his startled daughter.

“… shall we catch it? If you want, I can show you how long a field mouse’s tail is.”

“T-t-tail…!”

A live mouse tail?! She didn’t want to see that!

“Though, field mice are pretty fast. If we miss it, it’ll turn the carriage upside down.”

“No, no, no, that’s fine! I’ll just admire it from a distance.”

Yuriana frantically waved her hands in refusal.

“Aww, you love both rabbits and mice? My daughter is an angel.”

“Hehe, of course. Miss Yuriana has a truly kind heart.”

Levina, who had come over from the following carriage, chimed in with a smile.

In the meantime, the family who had followed from Dark Town were enjoying a rare moment of rest.

However, there was someone who didn’t like seeing them laughing so cheerfully. It was the knights of the kingdom, who had just passed by to check the end of the procession and were on their way back.

‘Hmph! Insolent scum.’

One of the knights, with curly hair, played a trick as he passed by them. Deliberately, he stepped into some sludgy mud, causing it to splash in their direction.

Served them right.

Splash!

“Aah!”

He had aimed for the adults, but the mud splattered all over Yuriana instead, who was unlucky enough to get hit.

The knight was too close to Yuriana, so Asil couldn’t block it in time.

Even though he was a knight, he flinched after seeing that he had splattered mud all over a little girl.

‘Damn.’

The curly-haired knight had intended to target one of the burly bald men near Asil, not Yuriana.

Muscles bulging through his clothes!

Thick arms shamelessly exposed in a sleeveless shirt!

He had his back turned while chatting with someone, which annoyed the knight.

At the sound of Yuriana’s wailing, the burly man immediately frowned and began searching for the culprit.

“What bastard dares to do this to the young lady! Show yourself now!”

‘Young lady, my foot!’

The knight was taken aback but steeled his nerves after hearing the bald man’s way of speaking.

Why should the lowly creatures of Dark Town complain about a little mud kicked up by the noble feet of a knight?

Yeah, that was right. Even if it was a child, it was the same. She would turn out like that lot when she grew up, so there was no reason to feel guilty. Mud suited her just fine!

“……”

“……”

His fellow knights, who had witnessed the scene, said nothing. Were they even knights?

Just as they were about to walk away without an apology, acting brazenly shameless—

Whoosh!

An enraged Asil flew over and grabbed the curly-haired knight by the collar.

“How dare you insult my daughter?”

“Let go!”

“How dare you lay a hand on a knight?”

“A filthy Dark Town scum dares not know his place!”

At that moment, the other knights rushed over and surrounded Asil, threatening him. Even though she was shocked, Yuriana witnessed the scuffle between her father and the knights.

What… what was this? Everything was fine just a moment ago.

“……”

“Ah, Miss. Please, let me clean you up first.”

Levina said, hurriedly pulling off the shawl from her shoulders to wipe Yuriana’s dirty face. But Yuriana pushed away her kind hand.

“No. Don’t touch me.”

“Miss…!”

She couldn’t let her emotions get the better of her. She wanted to confront the arrogant knights with dignity. That was all she could think about.

“Hey! Get away from my dad right now. And apologize to me. If you splashed mud on someone, you should apologize. Why are you just walking away?”

As Yuriana spoke, she had to wipe the mud from her lips twice.

Spit, spit! It tasted bitter and gritty.

Drip, drip.

Dirty water continued to drip down from the mud on her head. It trickled down her ears, cheeks, and nose before finally dropping off.

The knights, and even Asil, heard the clear voice of the small, young girl.

But the knights only glanced at Yuriana before tightening their stance around Asil.

The tension escalated!

Anger… was building.

No one liked to see raw emotions being displayed, especially when they were negative.

Yuriana spoke again, this time more clearly.

“Can’t you hear me? Are all kingdom knights deaf? I told you to apologize. Whether you did it on purpose or not, if you splashed mud on someone, even if it’s just a drop of water, you should apologize. Didn’t your parents teach you that? What about the commander of the knights?”

“That brat…!”

At the mention of the knight commander, one of the knights twitched his lips in annoyance.

Asil growled lowly.

“If you so much as touch my daughter with your hands or feet again, I swear I’ll kill you all.”

He was dead serious.

The monopoly trade rights promised by Harun? The precious jewels that could only be sourced from the empire? Cooperation with the King of Nea?

None of that mattered.

He’d declare a complete break with them right here and prepare for a standoff if he had to!

Even a meeting with Heidel, practically a sworn enemy, could be thrown out without a second thought.

Anyone who harmed his daughter would never be forgiven.

“If you dumped a mudslide on someone, apologize immediately!”

Yuriana, having subtly turned into a , raised her voice even higher.

“Meooow!”

Even Lulu, watching from the top of the carriage, howled loudly in support.

Those who only showed off without the ability to back them were just a bunch of idiots.

‘The knights got what was coming to them. They had been acting so high and mighty; it served them right. Well, except for the fact that Yuriana got splashed too.’

If they went back to Lupedos and used a bit of magic, these knights would drop like autumn leaves!

In this matter, even Lupedos fully supported Asil and Yuriana’s stance. He never liked those arrogant knights from the start. They deserved to be taught a lesson.

Yuriana even refused the towel that Levina brought from the carriage and stood firm.

If they were being stubborn, she would be even more stubborn.

Let’s see whose stubbornness was stronger, hers or theirs!

As a proud seven-year-old girl living in Dark Town, she wouldn’t let this slide!

‘Do you even understand what it’s like to survive by scavenging through trash?’

But the prideful kingdom knights were just as stubborn.

They were fully aware that Dark Town held a monopoly on the empire’s trade rights and that Asil had built an impressive castle in the ancient style.

It made them envious. Why were those lowlifes from the back alleys now in power?

The knight order was already filled with people itching to wipe out Dark Town.

They didn’t like them. They hated them. And now, to bow their heads and apologize to the daughter of the boss? That would never happen.